Critics and skeptics have raised a variety of objections and questions regarding the existence of God and the trustworthiness of the Bible. I’ve responded to those questions elsewhere (see evidence forGod, Bible, Jesus).In this article, I want to answer some of their questions and objections regarding the Bible's teaching on Hell.

Let’s read a portion of Matthew's Gospel and briefly remind ourselves of what awaits those who refuse God's gracious offer of reconcilation and forgiveness of sins. Jesus said...

Matthew 25:31-3431 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He [Jesus] will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep [a ref. to redeemed believers] on His right hand, but the goats [a ref. to the unsaved] on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…

[Skipping down to v. 41]

Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”

The Bible makes it clear here (and elsewhere) that those who are saved will enter into God’s kingdom to enjoy all that He has in store for those who love Him. But it also makes it clear here and in numerous other passages, that those who refuse to repent—those who turn away God’s provision of forgiveness and salvation—will spend eternity separated from God in this dreadful place the Bible calls Hell. And dreadful it will be. Jesus and others in the New Testament described Hell as a place of...

• a real place that people are "cast...into" (Matt. 13:41-42) and "thrown into" (Rev. 20:15)• "outer darkness" (Matt. 25:30)• "utter darkness" (Jude 1:13)• a place where there is weeping (Matt. 25:30, 8:12) • a place where there is gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30, 13:50) • a place of everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46)• a place of separation from God (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9)• a place of wailing (Matt. 13:40-42) • a place of "torment" (Luke 16:23)• a place where people "will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10)• a place where there are "flames" (Luke 16:24)• a place where people will not want others to end up (Luke 16:27-31)

This is certainly not a place you want to end up. But of course critics of the Bible and nonbelievers in general have a difficult time accepting the Bible’s teaching on Hell. They say...

1. "A God of love would never send anybody to Hell."

I find it very interesting that so many people are confident that God is so loving. Where does mankind get the idea that God loves the whole world, including sinners?

–The Buddhist scriptures, the Tripitaka? No. It's not taught there.–The Hindu Vedas? No. No loving God there.–The Quran? Nope. The god of the Quran does not love sinners. It states that over and over again.

The idea that God is a loving, merciful, forgiving God comes from the Bible. It is the Bible alone, amongst these books, that presents God as gracious, loving, merciful and forgiving of sinners. A lot of people have gotten their idea that God is loving from the very same book that teaches us about Hell!

The problem though is that a lot of people want to treat the Bible like a salad bar. “Oh yeah, I’ll have a little bit of that, a scoop of that. Oh, I don’t like that. Eww, none of that.”

They do that with God!

"Yeah, I’ll take some of the love. I’ll pass on the judgment. Oh yeah, I’ll take some of the mercy! Yuck, none of that Hell stuff.”

They take what they like from the Bible and reject all the other stuff. Well, that's unwise! The same divinely inspired book that reveals to us that God is loving also assures us that God is holy, pure, moral, just, that He hates sin, and that unrepentant, unforgiven sinners will be judged, condemned, and cast away from His presence forever in Hell.

Nonbelievers are right in believing that God is loving but they have seriously erred when it comes to His holiness and His justice. And because He is holy—because He is just—adulterers, murderers, thieves, liars, fornicators, idolaters, and so on, will be punished…unless they are reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Well, the skeptic raises a second objection…

2. "God may send some people to Hell, but He's not going to send good people to Hell."

Many people who believe in Hell’s existence and who even believe others may be going there, have been deceived into thinking God will not send them there.

Why? "Well," the person says, "I'm a good person." That is the number one reason why people think they will not end up in Hell (“I’m a good person”). Maybe you’ve thought that to be the case with yourself. But, according to the Bible no one is good enough to go to Heaven on his own. The Bible says...

Romans 3:23"All have sinned..."

Isaiah 53:6"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way."

Davide wrote in...

Psalm 143:2“...in Your sight [God’s] no man living is righteous.”

On man’s scale a person might appear pretty good, but according to the Bible, each one of us is an unrighteous person...who deserves God’s judgment.

Those are the people who deserve to end up in Hell—sinners, people like you and me (before we were forgiven). And those are the people, if they reject God's offer of forgiveness, who will end up there.

A third and somewhat related question is this:

3. "Why would God have created us, if He knew in advance that so many people would end up in Hell?"

I believe the simplest answer is this: Just as the Lord knew many would reject Him, the opposite is also true; He knew that many would freely receive Him and enjoy eternity with Him. Apparently, even knowing many would reject Him and end up in Hell, He felt it worth it, so that we who would receive Him, could have fellowship with Him and Him with us.

Should God have refused to create humans just because some would refuse to have a relationship with Him? I don’t think so. That would allow the evil actions of some to rob others of the wonderful blessing of knowing God and enjoying Him forever.

My wife Anastasia and I have been married for quite a while; we have five kids. Should Christians refuse to start families even though we realize that some of our kids, grandkids, or great grandkids may turn their backs on God and end up in Hell? No! Why? Because we're confident that many of our kids and grandkids will not turn their backs on God. And if some turn away from God and end up in Hell, it will be of their own free accord (choice). By us giving birth to them, we are not in any way forcing any of them to go to Hell. They, like all people, will have the option to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness.

So I’m not going to withhold (deny) the blessings of eternity from my children and other descendants because of the foolish and sinful decisions of others. I think this is also true with God. He knew in advance that many would reject Him, but He also knew many would receive Him.

That’s why He created us!

4. "Couldn't God have just created a world in which no one would end up in Hell?"

Sure. He certainly could have. But it would not have been a world with humans; it would have been a world of androids, a world of robots. Why? Well, it would have to be a world in which sin never takes place. Why? In a universe created by a holy and just God, sin requires judgment and punishment (Hell). So, to prevent people from going to Hell, God would have to prevent people from sinning. To do that, God would have to create people without free will (i.e., without the freedom to sin). The creatures would have to be creatures that God pre-programmed to always do what God wanted them to do. God could have created creatures like that. But the fellowship, the worship, and so on, would all have been meaningless to God.

In order for a meaningful, genuine, loving relationship to exist between God and people, people must be free, free to love Him or free to hate Him.

And so God created mankind with freedom. You can freely love Him or hate Him. You can freely obey Him or sin against Him. And this freedom is the very thing people want. Imagine what the response would be if you were to go on to Facebook or Twitter sometime and ssk your non-Christian friends if they would like God to force them to live their lives in accord with all of His holy commandments 24 hours a day with no freedom to do otherwise. Ha! No way. Absolutely not! Most people want the option to move freely about.

So in this respect, God created the very kind of world people actually want to live in, a world in which true freedom exists. Unfortunately, our misuse of that freedom has led to a lot of suffering and our own condemnation.

Well, the skeptic raises a fifth question...

5. “What about those who have never heard of Jesus? Will they be condemned to Hell?”

God will make the final decision on that matter. For those who do end up in Hell, we must keep in mind that it won’t be because they never heard of Jesus. People will end up in Hell because they have lived their lives ignoring or even retreating from the truth that God has revealed to them.

Skeptic: “But some people have never even heard of God.”

Well, in response to this, we believe they will still be without excuse on the Day of Judgment. Why? God has revealed Himself to all people in at least two ways. The first way is in and through....

A. Creation.(Romans 1:20, Acts 14:17, Psalm 19:1-4)

Romans 1:19-20“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

All people from the beginning of time down to this day have had the testimony of creation to point them to their Creator. David talked about this as well in Psalm 19...

Psalm 19:1-4 “The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the Earth, and their words to all the world....”

Acts 14:17"Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."

Another reason people will be without excuse on the Day of Judgment is because of God’s revelation in and through man’s...

B. Conscience. (Romans 2:14-15)

The Bible says that those who haven't had access or exposure to the Scriptures (the written law of God)...

Romans 2:15"...show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness..."

God has inscribed evidence of His existence and His moral laws on the heart (or conscience) of every person. When a person does something sinful, his conscience accuses him, it convicts him. That's by God's design. The conscience is there to lead a person to seek out God, the Lawgiver, and ask for His mercy.

So, every person can know through an examination of creation and their con-science that God exists and that he has failed to live up to God’s laws written in their hearts.

If a person will respond to the truth that God has revealed to him through creation or the convicting work of his conscience, God will give him additional light about Himself. If a person who has never heard of Jesus, truly wants to know God, the Lord will let Himself be found. Why do I believe that? Because God said that is the case. Where?

Jeremiah 29:13 “…you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

David assured his son Solomon...

1 Chronicles 28:9 “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him...”

One of the reasons many people are not finding God today is because they do not want to find Him! They enjoy living in darkness (John 3:19) and they realize that having a relationship with God will require they turn their backs on sins that they find too enticing. But, if they are willing to seek after God, they will find Him.

Hebrews 11:6 says God..."is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

Psalm 145:18-19 “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.”

There are lots of ways God can get the truth about Jesus to a seeker. God might send them a missionary, a radio signal, a social media post, a gospel tract, an angel, a dream, or a vision. He might put a coworker, friend, or family member in their life who will send them a link to an article so that they might come to learn more about Jesus. Maybe that's why you're reading this right now. Someone sent you a link to this article. God is drawing you to Himself! He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you now and throughout eternity. If a person truly wants to know God, the Lord will make sure He is found.

Skeptic: "Why doesn't He just do that with all people?"

Christians have been sharing the truth about God with millions of people and many refuse to hear it! They refuse to respond.

For God to give more light (truth) to hard-hearted people who He knows will not respond to the gospel would only result in their greater guilt and condemnation.

Why? Greater light brings about greater responsibility.

Luke 12:48“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required.”

Skeptic: “It just seems that some people who live in third world countries are at such a disadvantage geographically when it comes to hearing the gospel.”

Well, in addition to God’s assurance that He will respond to those who seek Him (Heb. 11:6, Jer. 29:13) the Bible says that God has actually placed each person in a specific place geographically that he or she might be prone to call upon the Lord.

Turn over to Acts, Chapter 17. I want you to see something that Paul points out here...

Acts 17:22-2722 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having [What?] determined [What?] their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…”

Paul tells us here in Acts 17 that God “determined” ahead of time the “times” in history that each of us would be born and the geographical “boundaries” (v. 26) of our dwelling place. Why?

Verse 27, there in Acts 17, tells us, in order that we might “seek the Lord” and “find Him.”

It is amazing to know that every person (including you) has been born, by the sovereign will of God, in a place (both in time and geographically) that would be advantageous to actually finding the Lord.

There are no geographical disadvantages or mistakes. A person will not go to Hell because of some historical or geographical misfortune, which somehow prevented him from hearing about Jesus. If a person seeks to know God, God will be found.

In the end, all will receive what they actually chose in this life, either to be with God or to be without Him.

As J. P. Moreland has pointed out in Lee Strobel's book The Case for Faith, if a person constantly ignores God, constantly mocks Him by the way he chooses to live, saying “I couldn’t care less about what You put me here to do, Your values, or Your Son’s death for me. Leave me alone! I want to live my life without You!” God will honor that decision and in the end, that person will have his preference. I agree with C. S. Lewis, the Cambridge Professor, who said...

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’” –C.S. Lewis

Which group are you in? Are you saying to God, “Thy will be done!” Or will He say to you in the end, “Thy will be done!” If you are saying, "I don't want or need You God," He will honor that decision.

Separation from God is not simply a sentence that is handed down out of the blue on judgment day. It is the end of a path that is chosen, to some degree, in this life right here and now, day by day...as you exercise your will. [Wording here inspired by what J. P. Moreland said in The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel, p. 178]

C. S. Lewis said...“I believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful rebels to the end; that the doors of Hell are locked on the inside.” [C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 1962, p. 27]

What he meant is that ultimately it’s not God who condemns a person to Hell, but individual sinners and the choices they make.

Well, the skeptic poses a sixth question at this time...

6. "Why doesn't God give people a second chance after death?"

The truth of the matter is that God is giving people a second chance. Right now. And a third chance and a fourth chance. Every hour that passes is an opportunity for a person to cry out to God and be a recipient of His mercy and grace. And God obviously thinks the time He gives us in this life is sufficient. When a person dies it will be too late.

Hebrews 9:27"It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

Well, the skeptic raises a seventh objection...

7. "Why doesn't God seek to reform (change) sinners in some form of temporary purgatory?"

This is similar to the last question about a second chance after death.

Purgatory (for those of you who may be unfamiliar with this term) is, according to the Catholic Church, a place of torment where people go for a time of suffering in order to be prepared for Heaven. It is an unbiblical teaching that has no basis in Scripture.

Skeptic: “But why doesn’t God try something like this in order to reform people?”

Well, God is seeking to reform people. The time of reformation is called...LIFE.

For the lifetime of the individual, God’s Spirit patiently (2 Peter 3:9)...

• Strives with him (Genesis 6:3)• Convicts him of his sin (John 16:8)• Reminds him of God's righteousness (John 16:8)• Warns him of coming judgment (Acts 24:25)• Testifies to him through creation (Romans 1:20)• Sends him messengers with the good news of salvation (Romans 10:15)

When the person finally dies, the reformation process is over. Those in Hell will be those who are unreformable.

A eighth objection that has been raised against the Bible's teaching regarding Hell is this:

8. "It seems unfair that God would give out the same punishment to everyone who ends up in Hell. Some people seem to be so much more guilty of terrible crimes than others.”

Some critics of Christianity believe Hell is unjust because they believe the Bible indicates that “decent” human beings who “simply reject Jesus” are going to get the same punishment as people like Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin (evil men who were responsible for the murder of millions of people).

Well, the person who thinks that the Bible teaches this, has misunderstood what the Bible actually says. God is not going to indiscriminately (i.e., randomly without careful judgment) send the unrepentant to Hell to suffer the exact same judgment.

Revelation 20:11-15 says that every unsaved person is going to be resurrected to stand before God at a “great white throne” to be judged for every one of their deeds before they are sentenced.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 assures us that...“God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Jesus said in…

Matthew 12:36 “I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.”

These verses seem to indicate that a person will receive a greater condemnation or judgment based on what he or she has done. And this lines up precisely with what Jesus said in Mark 12:40, when He stated that the scribes of His day would “receive greater condemnation” than others. There will be greater condemnation for greater sins.

Christian: “Hold on a second here Charlie. I read the Bible. Are you saying that some sins are more serious than others? I thought that sin was sin.”

Well, yes, all sins are sinful, but some sins are greater than others. You don’t have to take my word for it. Jesus affirmed this to be the case. For example, in John 19, Jesus was standing before Pilate on trial. Notice what Jesus said to Pilate...

John 19:11Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin.”

Jesus told Pilate that he who delivered Him over to Pilate (probably a reference to Caiaphas or Judas, we’re not sure) was guilty of a “greater sin” than Pilate.There are greater sins. And the Bible teaches that there will be “greater condemnation” for those sins.

On another occasion, in Matthew 11, Jesus tells the people of Capernaum that the judgment coming to the people of Sodom would be “more tolerable” than their judgment (Matthew 11:24), because the people of Capernaum were guilty of greater sin.

According to Jesus, those with the lesser sins will have a “more tolerable” (Matt. 11:24) judgment than those with greater sins.

Now, don’t misunderstand; this is not to suggest that their suffering will not be horrible. Separation from God in Hell will be horrible for everyone who goes there, but it will be worse for others. What will a “greater condemnation” (Mark 12:40) result in?” We don’t know for sure. Perhaps some will suffer a greater degree of separation, isolation, emptiness, and regret. The bottom line is this: You do not want to go there!

9. "Why would God create Hell to be so horrible? I mean come on! Gnashing of teeth? Darkness? Flames? Only a crazed ogre would create that kind of place!?”

It’s interesting how unrepentant people view Hell and how repentant people view Hell. The person who is still blinded to how atrocious his sins are (Eph. 4:18), thinks Hell is too severe of a punishment for a lifetime of wicked deeds. The repentant person, whose eyes have been opened to how offensive his sins were to our Creator, tends to think that Hell is precisely what he deserved.

But why did God create Hell with the characteristics described in the Bible? Well, God is absolutely just and perfectly fair. And everything God does is in harmony with who He is. So, we must conclude that Hell is the way it is because that is precisely what the unrepentant deserve, and no more.

If a person thinks Hell is too severe, that's because he has a distorted view (an unclear view), of sin. To reject the One who created you, and then engage in all kinds of behavior that is sinful and grieving to Him (not to mention hurtful to others) deserves far more than a rebuke or a slap on the wrist. And Hell is what God determined would be the just penalty.

Now, some Christians might object and say, “No, Hell is the way it is because Hell was originally prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). That's why Hell is so awful! God never intended for humans to go there.”

Well, there are some problems with this response. Yes, Jesus did say “the everlasting fire [was] prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

But God, being omniscient about the future, knew that Hell would also be the place where He would send unrepentant humans who would reject His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation. So, it was prepared for the devil and the angels, yes, but it was also prepared for humans who don’t want a relationship with God. And this is one of the reasons Hell is going to be so awful. It is a place of separation from God.

2 Thessalonians 1:9 says…“And these [who reject God] will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from [what?] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”

Any place a person ends up that puts them outside of God's blessing is going to be a miserable place, for God is the source of everything that is good and everything that brings the heart joy and comfort.

James 1:17 says…“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Any good thing that has brought your heart joy in this life was created by God; it was a gracious gift God gave you. If a person successfully cuts himself off from a relationship with the One who provides all those things, he's going to find himself in a very dark, miserable place. And that is what Hell is, a dark miserable place, apart from God.

SKEPTIC: “That doesn’t sound like too severe a punishment to you?”

No, it doesn't, for in a sense, it’s the very thing that those who reject God, want:

LIFE APART FROM GOD.

Peter Kreeft, a Christian apologist, wisely pointed out that…

“Hell's punishment [separation from God] fits sin's crime…The punishment fits the crime because the punishment is the crime. Saying no to God means no God." Peter Kreeft, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, p. 300.

So, the punishment (life apart from God) will fit the crime because that’s what people who reject God actually want: NO GOD.

SKEPTIC: “Well, if the God of the Bible exists, He has really blown it in attracting people to Himself with this Hell doctrine. People find the Bible’s teaching on Hell appalling.”

Some will find anything the Bible teaches to be appalling. If the Bible taught that there was no Hell, and that everybody just got to go straight to Heaven after death with no justice being meted out for evil deeds, many critics would find that appalling as well. They’d protest and say “How is that fair?! God should punish evil doers for all the awful things they did. It’s not fair that rotten guy was able to get away with all those atrocious things on the Earth and now God is just welcoming him into Heaven!? That's outrageous!”

Critics who say that the Bible's teaching on Hell is appalling and that it drives people away from Christianity overlook that it has actually caused many runaway sinners to reconsider their rejection of God and turn back to Him that they might receive the mercy they know they need.

SKEPTIC: “Well, I still think more people would love Him if Hell was just a planet somewhere off in space that could sustain the people who don’t want to spend eternity with Him."

I disagree. If Hell was a planet somewhere with some of the good things on it that we enjoy here on the Earth, many people in this life would say, “Ahhh! That doesn’t sound so bad! I could live a godless life here on Earth doing whatever I want, then go to that planet called Hell, and I could make do with that! There’s food there. I could probably make some friends, find a cool cave to live in, go surfing occasionally.”

If the afterlife for the wicked was something like that, billions of people would unwisely choose to just “eat, drink, and be merry” in this life. And as a result, they would miss out on the far greater joy of knowing God now and throughout eternity in the next life, in the Kingdom He’s prepared for those who want to enjoy everlasting life with Him.

So, the doctrine of Hell (as it’s revealed in the Bible) actually helps prod people to seek God and embrace the incredible good He has in store for His people.

And here’s something else the reality of Hell brings about: a saner, safer world now. Friends, the evil taking place in the world is already bad enough, but there would be far more evil taking place if there was not a widespread fear of punishment in the afterlife. The belief that Hell might exist restrains a good amount of evil that would take place apart from this Biblical doctrine.

I wonder how many would-be child molesters, rapists, and murderers have decided to restrain themselves out of fear that that activity might secure them a spot in Hell. Fear of punishment restrains evil and leads to a safer, saner world. It's been said that without a fear of Hell (or divine retribution) in the afterlife, mankind would create Hell on Earth.

So, we can thank God for His wisdom regarding this. Justice will be meted out in Hell; the reality of Hell causes many to seek Him, and it brings about a safer, saner world.

Well, the skeptic raises a tenth and final objection...

10. "All right, maybe Hell does exist, but I could never be happy in Heaven knowing my loved ones are in Hell."

The thought of being apart from your friends and family who do not know the Lord is a heart wrenching thought. But God assures us in His Word that in Heaven our joy will be absolutely full.

Psalm 16:11 says...“In Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”

In eternity, God’s people are going to experience and perpetually know “fullness of joy.”

Revelation 21:4 tells us..."He [God] shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

Notice that! There will “no longer be any mourning” for God’s people in eternity.

C. S. Lewis, a former atheist, turned follower of Jesus, gave this exhortation to people who wrestle with the reality that some of their loved ones won’t be in Heaven:

"If you are concerned about your loved one's that won't be in Heaven, the most irrational thing you could do if you are truly concerned about those on the outside is to remain outside yourself."

The best thing you could ever do is to make sure you’re going to Heaven and then do all that you can to help wake up your loved ones! That would be the wisest course of action.

I’ll close with two questions: One for Christians. One for non-Christians...

Christian, do you have a loved one on their way to Hell?

I think we all do. May I encourage you to stand in their way with your love and your prayers?

Charles Spurgeon said...“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees...Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

That is a great exhortation! God help us to pray for people and to lovingly get in their way with the truth of the gospel. And now a question for you if you are not a Christian...

Would you like to make sure you won’t end up in Hell?

Would you like to know your sins are forgiven? Would you like to be confident you are going to Heaven? You can because two thousand years ago, Jesus, (God in the flesh—your Maker) out of His great love for you, suffered and died on that cruel wooden Roman cross. Why? To take the punishment for your sins. So that you could be forgiven, saved from eternity in Hell, and be brought back into a relationship with Him.

Jesus rose from the grave three days later and today He is offering mankind (you!) the forgive-ness of sins and the “free gift” (Rom. 6:23) of everlasting life to all those who will turn from their sins and place their faith in Him.

John 3:16“Whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

That’s it! Jesus did all the work. All you need to do is believe (i.e., place your faith in Jesus and what He did to save You). –nd you can do that today. God is a prayer away. You can pray something like this…

God, forgive me for my sins. I trust in Jesus Christ to save me! Come into my life and be my Lord and Savior.

And the Bible says...

Romans 10:13“Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

So, don't put it off. Call on Him today!

is the founder of the ABR Apologetics Ministry (AlwaysBeReady.com) and a popular guest speaker at churches and conferences all over North America. He is the author of several articles, books, and DVDs, some of which include:

His resources have been endorsed by Norman Geisler, Charles Colson, Chuck Smith, Ed Hindson, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Jeremy Camp, and many others. His doctrinal beliefs are outlined here. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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